Best Broomball Shoes: Our Guide and Recommendations

Some people play broomball in their regular tennis shoes, while others go out of their way to make sure they are wearing the best broomball shoes money can buy. Broomball shoes can be expensive, so it’s understandable that newcomers or casual players might want to hold off on splurging for a pair.

But if you’ve ever played in a rec league where some people wore tennis shoes and others wore proper broomball shoes, you can see beyond a shadow of a doubt how much difference the right footwear can make when you’re running around on a sheet of ice.

Where can you find broomball shoes? There aren’t a ton of options, especially if you live somewhere outside Minnesota or the Northeast. Your average Walmart isn’t going to stock broomball shoes. Many sporting goods stores won’t have them. So online might be your best bet.

Reasons to Wear Proper Broomball Shoes

It’s simple – to keep from sliding all over the ice! Broomball shoes are designed with a special sole with a high “grippy” factor. This makes you more likely to keep your feet in one place on the ice instead of sliding all over.

Most broomball shoes look like normal shoes, but with a thick rubber layer on the bottom. They are not fashionable at all. But they’ll make you look better by improving your game!

The guys and gals in this video are having a lot of fun. But imagine how much less they would have been slipping if they had proper broomball shoes!

The Best Broomball Shoes: Our Recommendations

The options available online are slim, even on Amazon, but while sifting through the choices, we discovered a few brands and styles that legitimately rank among the best broomball shoes currently on the market.

Anyone who plays broomball knows the name Acacia. They also make some of the top broomball sticks. Acacia makes several different types of broomball shoe. All are quality, so it just depends which of the slight differences you prefer.

The Grip-Inator is the best all-purpose broomball shoe. It’s a basic shoe with round mini-nubs on the bottom for superior traction. Its mid-sole provides a layer of foam cushioning to add flexibility and comfort. Acacia markets the Grip-Inator as the top shoe that can be used both indoors and outdoors.

The big difference between thee Grip-Inator and the Cruzr is that the Cruzr is more lightweight. It’s the lightest broomball shoe around, in fact. So players who want to feel as light as possible to gain speed without being weighed down might consider the Cruzr.

You’ll notice the grip on the sole is also different. It’s composed of long, thin nubs arranged in a circular pattern. This type of sole and the corresponding waterproof nylon exterior are ideal for indoor play, where the ice tends to melt a bit faster.

Along with Acacia, D-Gel is the other big name in broomball gear. D-Gel’s Gripper shoe features a hard rubber bottom and “safety toe” made of hard material to protect your toes from being whacked by a stick.

These grip the ice well, providing solid traction. They use an angular line design on the bottom of the sole. I personally like the look of the D-Gel shoe more than the Acacia. For some reason, to me they seem a little more understated and less flashy, which works for me.

Another indoor/outdoor shoe, the Spider-Gel is literally named after the “spider gel” it’s made from. But I view the black and red stripes on the side as looking kind of spider-like. So it’s an appropriate name in more ways than one.

This model is no longer being manufactured by Acacia. So snap one up on Amazon if it’s in stock and you like this particular design!

Originally designed as a curling shoe (hello to our Canadian curling friends!), the Blitzen shoe is unique because it features a low-top design. Exposing the ankles isn’t necessarily a great idea in a sport in which sticks and balls are flying. But some people just do not like high-tops. For those folks, the Blitzen is one of the best broomball shoes.

This is a quality indoor broomball shoe with good traction and the same kind of grip you find on all of Acacia’s other indoor footwear. It comes in a stylish black and grey design.